Chapter One

Why Organic Beekeeping?

We must be the change we wish to see in the world.

—Mahatma Gandhi

The Hive as Teacher

We can learn so much from the honey bee, who also goes by the
Latin name of Apis mellifera. Of all the insects, the honey bee seems
to lend itself most perfectly to anthropomorphism. For example, the
relationship between the bee and the plant kingdom is a powerful
and intricate orchestration of interdependence and cooperation. To
live its day-to-day life, the bee need only collect nectar and pollen
from the flowers in bloom. These gifts from the plant kingdom, along
with some water, plant resins that the bees use to make propolis,
fresh air, and sunshine, are all the bees need from the world around
them to survive and prosper within their colony. Thus, unless it feels
threatened and is forced to defend itself or its hive, the bee is the only
creature in the animal kingdom, that I am aware of, that does not kill
or injure any other being as it goes through its regular life cycle. Apis
mellifera damages not so much as a leaf. In fact, honey bees take what
they need in such a way that the world around them is improved. By

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pollinating blossoms during nectar- and pollen-­foraging activities,

the honey bee contributes directly to the abundance found on Earth.
This industrious little creature even transforms the nectar it collects
from sugar water into deliciously sweet and health-promoting honey.
As a result, beekeeping is a wonderful way to give back to the world
and help make it a better place, while at the same time receiving many
incredible gifts. It is a pleasure to know that, although they may not
realize it, my neighbors down the road are able to enjoy a bountiful
harvest from their garden due, in part, to the pollination services ren-
dered by the honey bees in my care. I like the fact that my hives, work-
ing in conjunction with the local plants, help produce an abundance of
nuts, seeds, fruits, berries, et cetera, so the birds and other wildlife liv-
ing in the area around my bee yards have plenty to eat. Because many
of the seeds and nuts that are not eaten will develop into a variety of
beautiful flowers, herbs, bushes, and trees, my neck of the woods is
more likely to be a beautiful and bountiful place to live for many years
after my passing. By directly participating in the creation of numerous
seeds, nuts, fruits, and vegetables through cross-pollination, the honey
bee benefits plants, animals, and humans alike. Farmers know that as
the number of bees in an area increases, so will the quality of the fruits
and vegetables grown in the region.
All the while, the bee is going about the business of creating
honey, a substance that not only tastes wonderful but can help heal
burns, cuts, infections, and numerous other maladies of the body. So
much has been written about the amazing healing aspects of honey
that I will not go much further into this topic other than to encour-
age the reader to investigate the many benefits of this “first-aid kit
in a jar.” Honey is something so precious and special; even with our
highly developed technological sciences, we humans still have not
been able to duplicate the efforts of the simple honey bee and create
the same substance from what amounts to nothing more than sugar
water.
The honey bee inspires me to work into my daily life this lesson:
that we should take what we need to live in the world in such a way
that we give something back and improve upon things, thus making
the world a better place. Many of the world’s problems could potentially
be solved in short order if every person took this single lesson from
the honey bee to heart and worked to manifest it in his or her life.

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The indigenous peoples that inhabited

the Americas prior to the arrival of Europeans
shared a philosophy that regarded the natural
world as a teacher. They saw that in the nat-
ural balance of life, extremely diverse organ-
isms live in coexistence. Everything has its
place in the order of things. Unfortunately,
this tolerance seems to have been lost in the
industrial model developed by our Western
culture. Although the industrialization of
agriculture offers much promise, it also has
created many serious problems. This indus-
The propensity of the honey bee to focus
trial model produces the zero-tolerance men-
tality that gives birth to the toxic chemical treatments on one type of flower during each forag-
typically used in agriculture, and recently embraced ing trip makes it ideally suited for crop
pollination. Photo by Steve Parise.
by many in the beekeeping community.
A more holistic approach, one that views the honey bee and the
hive environment in terms of a biological model, stems from a nature-
based beekeeping philosophy. In this model, the concepts of coexis-
tence and tolerance are included. This perspective precludes the use of
toxic chemical solutions that seek to wipe out every pest in the hive.
The holistic viewpoint recognizes the unique role played by all of the
creatures of creation. Everything has its place and reason for being,
even if it is not immediately obvious. I must admit to not being privy
to the reason for the existence of the mite known as varroa (Varroa
destructor), which has become the bane of the beekeeping industry in
many parts of the world. However, I am certainly thankful for its pres-
ence, if for no other reason than the trouble it has caused beekeepers
and honey bees has inspired so many people to seek alternatives to the
reigning beekeeping paradigm of our times: the industrial model. Once
again, nature is teaching us to seek out a bigger picture.

Toxic Chemicals Infiltrate the Classroom

As of 1987, the keeping of honey bees was the only widespread agri-
cultural endeavor in the United States that had not become reliant
on toxic chemicals to secure a harvest. In that year the parasitic mite

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Varroa destructor, formerly Varroa jacobsoni, was first observed in hives

located in the United States. This mite—known to infest honey bee
colonies and suck blood from the bees, causing weight loss and defor-
mities, spreading disease, suppressing immunity, and reducing life
span—has since spread throughout America, assisted in part by the
unwitting cooperation of migratory beekeepers. The overwhelm-
ing hive losses experienced by U.S. beekeepers in subsequent years
prompted an outcry from the beekeeping industry for assistance. The
response followed the same path tread by other agricultural com-
modity groups that have had a need to control insect pests threaten-
ing their crops. Beekeepers turned to toxic chemical compounds to
solve their mite problem. Unfortunately, hindsight shows that this
approach is a short-term solution, at best.
Since the end of World War II, when pesticides first became widely
utilized, insects have consistently developed resistance to the toxic
chemicals that have been used to control them. The response from agri-
business has been to turn either to higher doses of chemicals or to more
toxic compounds in an effort to keep pests in check. History repeated
itself with the beekeeping industry’s approach of inserting chemical-
impregnated plastic strips into the hive to control varroa mites.
The first strip was released in 1992 and went by the brand name
Miticur. The strip, when introduced into the hive, carried with it a dose
of the chemical amitraz, which was designed to be toxic enough to kill
the mites, but not so potent as to kill the bees on which the mites reside.
This approach to pest control is similar to using chemotherapy drugs in
the treatment of cancer. Chemotherapy drugs are toxic to healthy cells
as well as cancer cells. However, the chemotherapy treatment protocol
calls for a dosage that is toxic enough to kill the cancer before the drugs
have the effect of killing the person hosting the disease. Unfortunately,
many beekeepers continued to experience huge hive losses despite treat-
ing with Miticur, so it was removed from the U.S. market after a short
duration, although it continues to be marketed in Europe under the trade
name Apivar. At the time of its discontinuation, some people believed
there had been a problem with the strips containing the wrong dos-
age of pesticide, which failed to kill the mites out-right and allowed the
mite to develop resistance to the chemical. However, our lack of knowl-
edge and experience with this new mite may have also played a role in
Miticur’s apparent failure. Unless the unlikely event of production prob-

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lems during pesticide manufacturing occurred, the beekeepers who ini-

tially experienced major losses to the mite despite their use of Miticur
were probably treating their hives too late in
the season, without realizing it. Remember,
this was in the early 1990s, and beekeepers
had not yet gained much experience dealing
with the varroa threat.
The next pesticide strip to be utilized
in the hive was Apistan, which relied on
the active chemical component fluvalinate.
Fluvalinate is related to the pyrethrin family
of pesticides that are synthesized from plants
and is unlike its more toxic and long-lasting
cousins, that are derived synthetically from
petroleum. In contrast to Miticur, this prod-
uct initially gained success on the market.
Unfortunately, after several years of Apistan
use, resistance to fluvalinate became wide-
spread among varroa mites, and the industry
turned to a much more toxic synthetic chem-
ical compound called coumaphos. Classified
as an organophosphate, coumaphos is sold
under the trade name CheckMite.
Organophosphates are among the most
toxic chemical compounds used in agricul-
ture. In fact, organophosphates are so toxic
Australia is the only continent with
and persistent in the environment that at the
present time there is an effort by the U. S. Environmental bees that does not support a population
Protection Agency (EPA) to wean agriculture off these of Varroa destructor . . . so far.
compounds, with the goal of eventually removing Photo by Steve Parise.
them from the market altogether. CheckMite is similar to Apistan in
that it relies on a plastic strip inserted into the hive to introduce the
chemical control. Unfortunately, it took only a few years before var-
roa began showing resistance to coumaphos as well. The conventional
approach has since evolved into using a rotation between Apistan
and CheckMite, altering their use from season to season in the hope
that mites resistant to one chemical will not be resistant to the other.
Undoubtedly, new synthetic toxic chemicals will be approved for use

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against varroa in the future in order to help further address the resis-
tance factor that varroa has developed to existing treatments. Walking
this chemical treadmill may prove effective in con-
trolling varroa for a short period, until the mites
The effect of exposing honey
become resistant to them all. Unfortunately, these
bees to sublethal doses of
toxic compounds have the ability to accumulate in
certain chemicals is rarely
beeswax and honey, and this increases the potential
discussed. Just as with peo-
for chemical contamination, resulting in undesir-
ple, the long-term health and
able consequences for both beekeepers and consum-
vitality of the hive is likely to
ers. Anecdotal stories of beekeepers using the active
be compromised from such
ingredients fluvalinate, amitraz, and coumaphos in
exposure, even if such detri-
unregistered and illegal ways further exacerbate this
mental effects are not readily
situation. The fact that varroa mites developed resis-
and immediately evident.
tance to amitraz, despite the relatively short time it
was available for legal use by beekeepers, supports
such anecdotal evidence.1 Increased costs associated with these “che-
motherapy” treatments have reduced the profitability of the beekeep-
ing industry. In addition, the backlash that may result if honey on the
market is found to be contaminated with one or more of these pesti-
cides, combined with their lack of effectiveness, greatly decreases the
value of the chemical approach to mite control for beekeepers.
While the conscientious apiculturist will follow the directions
on the pesticide label and wear gloves during application, exposure
during use can still occur. Chemical contamination is most likely to
result from secondary exposure, after the beekeeper touches objects
with the chemically laden gloves worn while applying the pesticide.
This is inevitable if the beekeeper works the bees without assistance,
as is the case with most hobby and small beekeeping operations. I
am reminded of the time I was assisting with the installation of some
CheckMite strips in a bee yard. One person’s job was to smoke the bees
and remove and then replace the hive covers, while the other person,
wearing gloves, inserted the strips into the hive once the covers were
removed. On this occasion, while the strips were being placed into a
hive, a bee flew up and stung me on my eyelid. My initial reaction of
shock and pain triggered my kindhearted coworker to want to help
me. He instinctively reached up to remove the barbed weapon from
my face as I was groping blindly at my pulsating eyelid and having
difficulty removing it myself. The look of utter horror that crossed my

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face as I backed slowly away from the coumaphos-laden glove caused

us to break out in hysterical laughter. This was undoubtedly the fast-
est recovery from being stung in a sensitive area that I had ever expe-
rienced. It also demonstrates how situations can arise when even a
cautious individual can be exposed to the dangerous chemical pesti-
cides used in conventional apiculture.
As a boy, I remember hearing it reported by the U.S. Centers for
Disease Control (CDC) that almost one out of every three American cit-
izens could expect to get cancer at some point in their lifetime. Today,
the CDC tells us that on average over 44 percent of the people in the
United States can expect to get some form of cancer during their life,
and this statistic keeps rising each year.2 Meanwhile, the inventory of
other degenerative metabolic diseases that plague our modern society
continues to stack up like cordwood and is far too long to recite fully.
They include not only cancer but attention deficit disorders, mental
retardation, leukemia, male sterility, and birth defects—all of which
can be linked to the poisons used in and around our food supply. It
is said that, despite the many hazards of Western culture, beekeeping
ranks high among the professions whose participants tend to live long
and healthy lives when compared to people who make other career
choices. It will be interesting to see if the potential for contamination
due to the relatively recent advent of toxic chemical use within the
beekeeping industry will adversely affect this favorable designation.
The effect of contaminated honey on consumers and their pur-
chasing habits also becomes an issue when chemicals become an inte-
gral part of the beekeeper’s management of pests. Research in Europe
has shown that the chemicals used to control mites in hives are read-
ily absorbed by beeswax. These pesticides and their chemical break-
down products have the potential to migrate into the honey that is
stored in the wax combs. By approving the use of these miticides,
the EPA has deemed the potential for such low-level contamination
acceptable for both fluvalinate and coumaphos, claiming that allow-
able residue levels in honey and wax are not exceeded when these
materials are applied according to the label instructions. However, as
health food advocates have been pointing out for years, just because
you can make it to the door after consuming minute quantities of
these toxic compounds does not mean that they are benign and have
no deleterious effects in the long run.

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The effect of exposing honey bees to sublethal doses of these com-

pounds is rarely discussed. Just as with people, the long-term health
and vitality of the hive is likely to be compromised from such expo-
sure, even if such detrimental effects are not readily and immedi-
ately evident. Because long-term tests have not yet been done, we
may yet find that physiological and metabolic changes occur within
honey bee populations over extended periods, and these detrimental
effects may become obvious only after several decades of exposure.
Research indicating reduced sperm counts in drones that have been
exposed to coumaphos, and the negative effects on queens reared in
cells constructed out of coumaphos-impregnated wax, validates these
concerns.3
The effects of repeated exposure of bees and humans to small
amounts of several toxic chemicals simultaneously is also unknown.
The EPA requires safety studies be carried out only on individual pes-
ticides in isolation, rather than in combination with one another. In
actual practice, more than one chemical may be utilized by a bee-
keeper during the course of the season. Knowing that compounds
may combine synergistically and have a greater effect when acting
together than when used alone raises serious concerns about the effec-
tiveness of the regulatory guidelines that are designed to safeguard
our health and the health of our bees.

The Meaning of Organic

Despite widespread belief to the contrary, the term organic does not
mean that the final crop or product is totally free from toxic chemical
contaminants. This mistaken perception has taken hold primarily due
to the efforts of manufacturers and marketers, who have successfully
promoted the notion that organic products are pure and chemical free.
Meanwhile, because of the success of this viewpoint, resentment has
built up among many beekeepers who feel that the organic label rel-
egates their own commercially produced honey to second-class status.
What was once considered a natural, healthy product is now deemed
inferior, when, in fact, the final products of conventional and organic
production may not be all that dissimilar in terms of their chemical
composition.

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At its inception, the organic approach traditionally referred to a

management style and philosophy that is biological in nature. Rather
than being a statement about product purity, organic was all about the
big picture. It referred to approaches that care for the life in the soil
and minimize the use of nonrenewable inputs and energy sources,
such as those derived from petroleum. Organic principles embraced
an attitude of fairness and care in regard to our common environ-
ment, as well as social concerns such as the welfare of farm workers.
One of the original aims of organic agriculture was to establish a sense
of stewardship for the earth, embracing human-scale operations that
fit harmoniously with the landscape and local community. Although
it was certainly possible that organic management
practices would result in a cleaner product, it was I like the fact that my hives,
not the primary focus. Instead, organic management working in conjunction with
sought to mimic the natural world in its efforts to be the local plants, help pro-
sustainable, with the ability to be carried on indefi- duce an abundance of nuts,
nitely, as nature has proven herself to be. For exam- seeds, and berries so the
ple, organic farmers have long relied on beneficial birds and other wildlife living
insects that feed on pests in order to reduce crop in the area around my bee
damage, such as the large-scale release of ladybugs yards have plenty to eat.
to reduce the level of aphids on a crop. Some farm-
ers and growers use traps on a regular basis. These
traps mimic the effect of natural predators by removing unwanted
insects, often by luring the unsuspecting victim using a synthetic ver-
sion of a natural pheromone attractant. These are just a couple of the
approaches to pest control that copy the ways the natural world will
spare some plants over others from the damaging effects of insect pre-
dation. Although these types of approaches may have little impact on
the quality of the final crop, they are integral to the organic philoso-
phy that stands behind the finished product.
In contrast, one of the guiding principles of the industrial model
that has been so aptly developed by Western culture is the desire to
maximize production. When applied to agriculture, this typically
results in the drive to push biological organisms to the limits of their
capacity. Unfortunately, the focus on increasing our harvest seems to
distract our attention from the quality of the crop that is being pro-
duced and the health of the plants or livestock that are doing the pro-
ducing. In the dairy industry, for example, the cow that historically

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produced 15 to 20 pounds of milk a day and lived for fourteen years or

more in a healthy, relatively disease-free state has today been bred to
pump out an average of 90 to 120 pounds of milk a day and has to be
sent to the slaughterhouse within three or four years simply because
she becomes exceptionally prone to sickness and disease from the stress
of the forced increase in milk production. The poor cows are literally
worn out. The humble honey bee is similarly affected by our efforts to
artificially boost the size of its honey crop. Activities such as the use of
chemical mite controls or the feeding of sugar syrups and pollen sub-
stitutes, although beneficial to honey production in the short term,
ultimately weaken the vitality of the hive and increase its vulnerabil-
ity to diseases and pests such as varroa. As a result, such management
tools should be used sparingly, if at all.
Our industrial model encourages large-scale production under
the “economy of scale” argument that has been the drumbeat of U.S.
schools of agriculture since the end of World War II. That is to say, “If
you want to be profitable, you must grow larger.” Although this makes
sense in many industries, the fallacy of this approach when applied
to farming—an inherently biological activity—is spelled out by Brian
Halweil of the Worldwatch Institute in the book Eat Here: Reclaiming
Homegrown Pleasures in a Global Supermarket.

In the post-war period, along with increasing mechanization, there

was an increasing tendency to “outsource” pieces of the work that
the farmers had previously done themselves—from producing their
own fertilizer to cleaning and packaging their harvest. That outsourc-
ing, which may have seemed like a welcome convenience at the time,
eventually boomeranged: at first it enabled the farmer to increase
output, and thus profits, but when all the other farmers were doing it
too, crop prices began to fall.
Before long, the processing and packaging businesses were adding
more economic value to the purchased product than the farmer,
and it was those businesses that became the dominant players in
the food industry. Instead of farmers outsourcing to contractors,
it became a matter of large food processors buying raw materials
from farmers, on the processors’ terms. Today most of the money
is in the work the farmer no longer does—or even controls. Tractor
makers, agrochemical firms, seed companies, food processors, and

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supermarkets take most of what is spent on food, leaving the farmer

less than 10 cents of the typical food dollar. (As noted earlier, an
American who buys a loaf of bread is paying about as much for the
wrapper as for the wheat.)
Ironically, then, as farms became more mechanized and more
“productive,” a self-destructive feedback loop was set in motion:
over-supply and declining crop prices cut into farmers’ profits,
fueling a demand for more technology aimed at making up for
shrinking margins by increasing volume still more. Output increased
dramatically, but expenses (for tractors, combines, fertilizer, and
seed) also ballooned—while the commodity prices stagnated or
declined. Even as they were looking more and more modernized,
the farmers were becoming less and less the masters of their own
domain. On the typical Iowa farm, the farmer’s profit margin has
dropped from 35 percent in 1950 to 9 percent today. To generate the
same income (assuming stable yields and prices), the farm would
need to be roughly four times as large today as in 1950—or the
farmer would need to get a night job. And that’s precisely what we’ve
seen in most industrialized nations: fewer farmers on bigger tracts of
land producing a greater share of the food supply. The farmer with
declining margins buys out his neighbor and expands or risks being
cannibalized himself.
There is an alternative to this huge scaling up, which is to buck
the trend and bring some of the input-supplying and post-harvest
processing—and the related profits—back onto the farm. But more
self-sufficient farming would be highly unpopular with the industries
that now make lucrative profits from inputs and processing. And since
these industries have much more political clout than the farmers do,
there is little support for rescuing farmers from their increasingly servile
condition—and the idea has been largely forgotten. Farmers continue
to get the message that the only way to succeed is to get big.4

The same pressure for farmers to increase in size applies to the bee-
keeping industry. Aside from the inexperienced or inattentive hobby-
ist, it is the large commercial bee outfits that have had the hardest time
preventing their hives from collapsing due to varroa mites. Reports of
winter losses attributed to mites of 40 to 50 percent and higher are all
too common among those with six hundred hives or more. In truth,

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the number of colonies an experienced beekeeper can manage suc-

cessfully in this new era of mites is likely to be lower than those of
prevarroa years, at least until new strains of bees have been developed
that are either extremely resistant or outright immune to varroa.
Part of the allure of chemical pesticide use is the economic bene-
fit that can be reaped by a reduction in labor—a cost that reflects the
investment in time, and the attention to detail, required by nontoxic
organic approaches to pests and disease. With the chemical approach
proving itself to be less than satisfactory in many ways, those in the
beekeeping industry may find themselves having to decrease their
hive-to-beekeeper ratio to match their colonies with the amount of
labor available to keep their hives healthy. The number of hives that
a single beekeeper can inspect and treat in a timely manner is lim-
ited. This is especially true when one considers all the unexpected
issues, from bad weather to flat tires, that typically arise and cause
delays, forcing one to fall behind schedule. As conventional chemical
treatments become less effective, the shift to nontoxic, labor-intensive
management techniques will require new approaches and technolo-
gies to make up for these increased labor demands.
Aside from chemical resistance in the case of varroa mites, another
key factor that affects hive survival, even when such control meth-
ods work, is the timing of mite treatments. There appears to be a cer-
tain threshold level of mite infestation within a colony that must be
reached before the hive will begin to show signs of stress. An even
higher threshold must be reached before the collapse of the colony
is imminent. The longer the mites have to freely reproduce without
hindrance, the more quickly these thresholds will be reached. By sim-
ply preventing the mite population from building up to critical levels,
chances of colony survival are greatly increased, even when mites are
present in the hive on a year-round basis. As a result, many beekeep-
ers prefer to harvest honey and treat their hives earlier in the season
than they used to, even though it may mean sacrificing a significant
portion of the potential honey harvest.
In Vermont, this means we are usually finished taking honey off
the hives by mid- to late August, so that a highly effective treatment
can be applied before the consistently cool weather rolls around.
Traditionally the honey harvest would not even get started before

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late August in our region, and often not until September, thus tak-
ing advantage of the late-blooming goldenrod plant. Goldenrod often
provides a large source of nectar-bearing flowers; the autumn honey
flow they create results in rich yellowish amber honey. Instead of see-
ing an early end to the season as a detriment, it means that the entire
process of harvest and treatment can be completed prior to the start
of the goldenrod honey flow. This in turn tends to result in a much
lighter crop of primarily clover and alfalfa honey, which features the
more delicate bouquets and flavors favored by many honey consum-
ers. Alternatively, the late-season flows may be harvested simply by
taking steps to remove some of the mites through-
out the season. A key to successfully using this late- Reports of winter losses
season approach is to have only so many colonies attributed to mites of 40 to
in your care that you are able to harvest and treat in 50 percent and higher are all
time to prevent a deadly threshold of varroa mites too common among those
from being reached. This can be accomplished even beekeepers with six hundred
while honey supers, the boxes of frames specifi- hives or more. The number of
cally intended to be filled by the bees with honey colonies an experienced bee-
and harvested by the beekeeper, are on the hive. keeper can manage success-
Ongoing mite control is accomplished by utiliz- fully in this new era of mites is
ing physical and mechanical control measures, that likely to be lower than those
will not expose the honey crop to the potential risk of prevarroa years.
of chemical contamination. The consistent elimi-
nation of a percentage of mites early on will delay
their population buildup and allow for the application of a traditional
late-season mite treatment, without giving the mites the opportunity
to overwhelm the colony.
It is possible that a strain of varroa might eventually evolve that
learns to keep its reproductive rate low enough so its population
within the hive does not overwhelm the host colony and cause its
collapse, bringing about the mites’ own demise in the process. We
already know that some honey bees have adapted their behavior in
order to coexist with varroa. The Apis cerana species of Eastern honey
bee, for example, has learned to live in harmony with the varroa mite
over the course of hundreds, or perhaps thousands, of years.
As we shall explore, beekeeping management techniques that help
to develop similar behaviors in the Western honey bee, A. mellifera,

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may lead to a climate of coexistence where the constant presence of

mites may be tolerated within the hive without leading to the col-
lapse of the colony. The sustainably minded beekeeper wishing to fol-
low an organic approach to beekeeping should embrace this type of
model. By adopting beekeeping management techniques that encour-
age coexistence, we humans can play an important role in the even-
tual development of permanent coexistence between Apis mellifera
and Varroa destructor.
As a novice beekeeper, I relied greatly on the advice and sug-
gestions of other beekeepers I met. I also read numerous books and
articles on beekeeping. As a result, I am indebted to the kind and gen-
erous modern-day practitioners of this ancient craft who helped me
get started on the road to becoming successful in apiculture. Today, as
an active and experienced apiculturist, I find that the questions I am
most often asked concern how to keep and manage honey bees with-
out the use of toxic chemicals and still have hives survive the win-
ters here in the northern latitudes. Perhaps this is
Today, as an active and expe- a direct result of the increased media exposure that
rienced apiculturist, I find organic agriculture has received following the imple-
that the questions I am most mentation of the National Organic Program (NOP),
often asked concern how which was passed into law in 2002 by the United
to keep and manage honey States Congress. It may be that the increased inter-
bees without the use of toxic est in chemical-free beekeeping that I have noticed,
chemicals and still have hives from hobbyists and commercial beekeepers alike, is
survive the winters here in a response to the increasing reports of environmen-
the northern latitudes. tal decline that is a result of some of our conven-
tional agricultural techniques used on other crops.
Ultimately, though, the interest in organic beekeep-
ing may simply be a result of the use of toxic miticides and the back-
lash resulting from the mixed results of conventional apiculture’s
reliance on these chemicals to control predatory insects within the
hive. Increased media reports of the ineffectiveness of conventional
mite control approaches and the resulting devastating losses of hives
by beekeepers have inspired a new wave of people to take up beekeep-
ing, many of them wanting to get involved in an effort to find a way
to help the honey bee survive and thrive without relying on chemo-
therapy treatments.

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 W h y organic beekeeping ?

Some Social Implications

I believe it is important for us beekeepers to share information with

the nonbeekeeping community to help educate them about the many
benefits of the honey bee. All too often, about the only thing the
average person knows about bees is that they sting and they produce
honey. The entire beekeeping industry stands to gain from the edu-
cation of the general public regarding the benefits of the bee. On a
professional level, the bond that can be forged from having direct
contact with members of the honey-consuming public can prove
invaluable in building a local market for hive products. This form
of public relations becomes more and more important as commu-
nities continue to grow and agricultural land becomes more devel-
oped and densely populated. As humans and honey bees are forced to
live in closer proximity to each other, more opportunities for unfor-
tunate encounters are likely to develop. This has already resulted in
the prohibition of beekeeping activities within the confines of many
municipalities throughout the United States. In the years ahead, more
towns and cities are likely to ban beekeeping within their borders.
The importance of positive public relations as a preventive to pub-
lic ignorance and prohibition of beekeeping activities will continue
to expand. Meanwhile the growing demand for, and awareness of,
organic foods by the general public may provide organically inclined
beekeepers with a public relations edge over their conventional coun-
terparts. The current state of the beekeeping industry certainly points
to the need for new approaches and ways of thinking.
Following the development of the atomic bomb, Albert Einstein
is said to have noted, “The release of atom power has changed every-
thing except our way of thinking . . . the solution to this problem lies
in the heart of mankind. If I had only known, I should have become
a watchmaker.” In many ways, the current dilemma facing the honey
bee mirrors the challenge faced by the human race. In my opin-
ion, some of the most difficult yet important work each of us can be
involved in is our personal growth and evolution. If we no longer want
to live in a world based on fear, lies, greed, and violence, and instead
want to create a world where love, truth, peace, and compassion pre-
vail, we must start with ourselves. Each one of us has the opportunity

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 N atural B eekeeping

to self-evolve and play an important role in creating a more peaceful

and harmonious world simply by living a life in which these values
are expressed on as consistent a basis as we can possibly muster. By
the same token, we cannot rely on those in positions of power and
leadership to solve the myriad social and environmental issues with
which we are currently faced. Just as the ultimate answer for solv-
ing the numerous difficulties facing humankind lies in the raising of
our society’s collective consciousness, the most desirable and perma-
nent solution to the difficult times the honey bee is now experiencing
also lies in the bee’s evolutionary process, through the development
of resistance to disease and parasitic pests. The goal of raising human-
ity’s collective consciousness requires the raising of each individual’s
consciousness to the point where enough of us evolve to affect society
as a whole. This is not something that can be forced or imposed upon
individuals. It is a responsibility each of us must choose to take upon
ourselves in our own time, when we are ready. So it is with the honey
bee that the evolutionary process must take place one hive at a time.
Just as with us humans, the bee creates its own future with each seem-
ingly insignificant daily decision and activity.
This realization has recently led me to start the process of examin-
ing and monitoring my own thoughts, feelings, and actions on a daily
basis in an effort to identify those areas of my being that I wish to
improve upon. Once they are identified, I can then begin the process
of analyzing the source of my motivations and make the changes and
shifts in my thoughts, beliefs, and actions necessary to bring about
permanent change, whether it be altering unhealthy habits, chang-
ing ways of thinking that no longer serve me, letting go of false ideas
and unproductive emotional responses, and so on. Albert Einstein is
but one of many who have brought forth this message that I am only
now just beginning to fully comprehend and embrace in my life . . .
all with the help of the bees.

Notes

1. Malcolm T. Sanford, “Using Liquid Formic Acid for Mite Control,”

Bee Culture 131 (June 2003): 18.

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 W h y organic beekeeping ?

2. SEER Cancer Statistics Review, 1975–2003, table I-14, “Lifetime Risk

(Percent) of Being Diagnosed with Cancer by Site, Race/Ethnicity
and Sex,” National Cancer Institute, http://seer.cancer.gov/
csr/1975_2003/results_merged/topic_lifetime_risk.pdf.
3. Larry Connor, “More on Drone Biology,” Bee Culture 133
(September 2005): 19–21; and Jeff Pettis, Anita M. Collins, Reg
Wilbanks, and Mark Feldlaufer, “Survival and Function of Queens
Reared in Beeswax Containing Coumaphos,” American Bee Journal
146 (April 2006): 341–44.
4. Brian Halweil, Eat Here: Reclaiming Homegrown Pleasures in a Global
Supermarket (New York: W. W. Norton & Company, Inc., 2004):
63–64.

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